It always happens around lunch time. I get a call from my mom asking if I’ve had anything to eat. Dare I say no, and before anyone knows it, she’ll be knocking down my door, hot meal in hand and lecture prepared on why it’s bad to skip meals. And when I’m stressed out and nutty, she insists she come over and clean for me…before my husband files a complaint for neglectful behavior. When I plan girl-nights with my friends, I get a call from my mom asking what about Adi. And it’s always the same reassurance… “Adi’s fine, mom. He’ll be fine at home…no really, he’d much rather be at home”. When my dad has a long day at work ahead of him, my mom will go along to keep him company and make sure he’s hydrated. You know, because she packs about 12 bottles of Zephyrhills. Every time. When my friends have exams or papers due, she adds them to her prayer list (which by the way, is more like a journal). And if a tropical storm has threatened to hit us, she insists she call family in Romania to tell them all is well. A tropical storm.

By nature, my mom’s a worrier… always has been. But the things that worry her heart aren’t so much worries, as they are cares. She cares about her family. Friends. Those in need. Kittens I bring home. She cares about it all. And she’ll take all the burdens off other’s shoulders and carry them on hers. Because that’s where they are safe.

Mom, there is no one like you in the world. I know I don’t tell you this enough but you are our world. Without you, nothing would work or make any sense at all. God has so uniquely created a heart in you for others, one that is warm and kind, and has taught me more than you’ll ever know. For every sacrifice you make, for every worry you take, and for every amount of love you give, thank you. There is no one like you, mom. No one in the world….and we are so blessed to have you. Happy Birthday… we love you.

Here’s a photo I dug up from when she was younger than I am now. When I was little, I’d stare at this photo and pretend it would one day be me.

Three weeks have passed and I’ve officially started my thesis in interior design. In all honesty, I’m deathly afraid and extremely excited, all wrapped up in one. This is my beginning to my end…to what I started 2 and a half years ago. This is the last part before I finish school forever. Ok, I realize this sounds so melodramatic and kinda like a prelude to a movie with a sappy ending that involves tears and glory, but bare with me here…we all know I’m semi-dramatic. ;)

So I’ll just lay it all out there for you, completely uncut and raw. Which by the way, makes me sound like a totally legit movie-person. I am excited to be so close to the end yet so fearful of failure once I get in the real world. I have doubts & I have concerns, but I have more hopes and dreams than the first two combined. I have faith that I was brought this far for a reason and I can’t wait to see what that reason is. It’s been quite the experience and it’s not quite over yet. So for the next 5 months, I’ll be focusing more on finishing what I’ve started than anything else in my life. I’m not quite sure that I’ll have as much time to blog everyday, and I’m not quite sure how much photography work I’ll be able to take, but I’m hoping to keep up as much as possible without needing to admit myself into a psych ward at the end of it all. Because that would make for a really bad ending to my happy movie. So though I’ve never done this before, I’m asking all of you, my wonderful and amazing readers, to please be patient with me…and to keep cheering me on. Because without your support and without your cheering, I would have never, ever gotten this far. Many of you are friends, many I’ve never met, and of course there’s my mom and dad….but all of you are a huge part of my life. All of you have helped me get to where I am and without you, I’m positive I would have quit photography in the first 2 weeks. So thank you. THANK YOU. Really, with all my heart, thank you.

I’d love for you all to be a part of this journey with me as well, and so I’m sure I’ll be ranting on about my frustrations with deadlines and my joys with finding the perfect furniture layout. I’m sure I’ll share photos and love some constructive criticism. But through it all, I just want to enjoy the process as much as possible and get back to doing what I love most…creating and connecting. And have a bag of popcorn along the way. With extra butter. So, happy Monday!!.. and because every post is better with a picture, here’s one of my many inspiration photos for my thesis. *Designed by Chan Soo Khian for Alila Villas Hadahaa in the southern Maldives*

It’s the beginning of the week… and nobody really likes when that happens. Why? Because it means you’re that much further away from the weekend. But since I generally try not to look at my glass half-full, I’m going to look at this beginning of a week as a fresh start. With a million things to do, a ton of things to see, plans to make, and dreams to dream, here’s to a brand new week and here’s to…organizing. Oh yes, you read right. Every now and then I get into this crazy weird mood…for organizing. And strange things start happening. Like sudden urges to buy extra storage cabinets and begin a filing system… for receipts from 2009. You know, just in case. Adi’s been regularly checking my forehead for fever and wondering who this strange woman in his house is, while I’ve been busying myself with color coordinating hair ties and alphabetizing my design books. So you can imagine my excitement when I came across this. A beautiful idea to organize and display pretty silver earrings and delicate gold necklaces? Yes, please. Happy beginning of the week!  

There are many advantages to being married to a computer boy (a.k.a. programmer). I love never having to worry about outdated or expired programs. I love that we have a fast computer and that he knows the fancy way to make it run that way. I really love that I can call him when the computer’s acting up and he can diagnose the problem right there and then. I love that he can figure out just about anything in photoshop without ever having to take a class. And how cool it is that I can get a different font on my blog with the snap of my fingers?! Ok, not quite…I’m not sure that Adi would react very well to me snapping my fingers. At him. But regardless, for the most part, I love it.

For the most part. I say this because there are also a few disadvantages to being married to a computer boy. Like not knowing how to get my Lightroom working again if he’s not home…and not understanding his foreign language as he attempts to walk me through it. Or opening my laptop to a completely different setup that I haven’t a clue how to operate. I also don’t particularly enjoy his boredom with programs. Just when I get used to a certain toolbar, he goes and changes it to an impossible location. Or the best part is when he reassigns keys on the keyboard to do magical things that I would never in a million years figure out without a manual. And how could I forget his urge to clean up the computer and as a result erase my “favorites” folder with all of my websites that I love so much.

Still…for the most part, I love it. I love it because I can wake up, have my coffee and go through my morning routine, and then sit in front of Google and see this: Yes, for the most part, I love being married to a computer boy. Happy Thursday!